Palestine: Rising worldwide critiques of Israeli police’s attack to Masjid Al-Aqsa

by Tauqeer Abbas
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Shafaqna Pakistan: The clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem Al-Quds, which injured at least 205 Palestinians, came amid mounting anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers. Israel’s Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the case on Monday.

Earlier this year, a district court ruled that several Palestinian homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem Al-Quds legally belonged to Jewish families, triggering protests and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshippers packed into the mosque on the final Friday of Ramadan and many stayed on to protest in support of Palestinians facing eviction from their homes on Israeli-occupied land claimed by Jewish settlers, Aljazeera mentioned. Their massive participation came despite Israel’s oppressive measures and attempts to prevent Palestinians from entering the holy site. Israeli Police attacked worshippers praying in the Masjid Al-Qiblatain inside Al-Aqsa with stun grenades and rubber bullets

Al-Aqsa’s Mosque Director Omar Al-Kiswani said in a video posted by Palestinian activists that, directly after the evening iftar break fast meal, “the Al-Aqsa mosque was stormed and unarmed worshippers were attacked to empty it.” Video footage showed Israeli forces storming the mosque’s sprawling plaza and firing sound grenades inside the building, where throngs of worshippers including women and children were praying on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

An AFP reporter said officers locked the doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, trapping worshippers for at least an hour. Moreover, Israeli police on Saturday clashed with Palestinian protesters outside Jerusalem Al-Quds’s Old City in a show of force that threatened to deepen the holy city’s worst religious unrest in several years.

The clashes came as tensions have soared over Israeli restrictions on access to parts of the Old City during Ramadan and the threat of eviction hanging over four Palestinian families in east Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers. Israel confronted rising worldwide strain to rein in right-wing Jewish settlers and halt deliberate evictions from an important East Jerusalem neighbourhood which have triggered violent clashes between the police and Palestinians, together with inside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.

International condemnation

The spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also condemned the evictions, saying that “if ordered and implemented” they would “violate Israel’s obligations under international law”. The EU also issued a statement, highlighting concern over the possible evictions. “Acts of incitement around the Haram al-Sharif must be avoided and the status quo has to be respected”, the EU said.

“The situation with regard to the evictions of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and other areas of East Jerusalem is also of serious concern,” it said. The United States called for “de-escalation” and said the threatened evictions could “worsen” the situation in east Jerusalem, as the United Nations warned the forced evictions could amount to “war crimes”,Channelnewsasia told.

Regional condemnation

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the timing of the Israeli actions showed a deliberate attempt to provoke Palestinians during Ramadhan. The Arab League scheduled an emergency meeting on Monday, Washingtonpost told. In the region, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan also issued strongly worded statements.

UAE Minister of State Khalifa Al Marar said that the UAE “expresses its grave concern about the violence that took place in occupied East Jerusalem and strongly condemns the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the displacement of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which resulted in the injury of a number of civilians”, Thenationalnews reported.

Bahrain’s foreign ministry said that “Israel’s plan to evict people from Jerusalem violates the resolutions of international legitimacy, and undermines the chances of resuming the peace process to achieve security and stability in the region.” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi condemned Israel’s “provocative steps in occupied Jerusalem and violation of Palestinian rights, including the rights of the people of Sheikh Jarrah in their homes, is playing with fire.”

Saudi Arabia said that Israel’s actions in East Jerusalem would be “unilateral” and that evictions would be an attempt to “impose Israel’s sovereignty”. Egypt’s foreign ministry also warned that the evictions would violate “international humanitarian law.”

Turkey referred to as Israel’s actions “terrorism”. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a “terror state” on Saturday after Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, Reuters reported.

Source: Shafaqna English

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